Does anyone know if the spacing of the cogs on a 6-speed or 7-speed freewheel is exactly the same as the spacing of the cogs on an 8-speed cassette? Specifically I'm talking about the freewheels RBW sells. But if it isn't true for those, is it true for any particular brand or model? And if so, how can I get those freehweels?
Sheldon's web-site indicates a chart with spacing for various freewheels and cassettes, but doesn't name any freewheel brands/models that I know how to get today. And what it does say indicates that the spacing is somewhat different, as far as I can tell. I'm contemplating a Phil-hubbed wheel for my later-this-summer Hillborne. And I like the idea of the relative cheapness of the freewheel version of the hub, of course. But more importantly I like the idea of a nearly dishless wheel. I think I'll be using non-O/C rims on this wheel if I do this; the strongest rims apparently don't come in O/C versions (perhaps because that makes them somewhat weaker?) so the lower dish possible with a freewheel arrangement would be great. It may overwhelm my desire for having only one style of hub in the household. I'm sure I'd be happy with 7-speeds as opposed to 8. I'd probably be fine with 6 speeds. BUT... I really really really don't want to compromise my 8-speed indexing ability. My inexpensive shifters are the best things about my current Trek hybrid. I've gotten spoiled with virtually flawless shifting. I realize that I'll have one or more "dead clicks" in my shifting if I move to a non-8-speed set-up; that's okay.) If it's "close but not exactly the same" spacing, I think I'll stick with the cassette arrangement and hope differing spoke tensions don't compromise the wheel too much. If it is practical to *make* the spacing the same, I'd consider that. And... I should ask generally... are there significant differences in "feel" of riding using a freewheel versus a cassette? That is, does one make for a more free-spinning wheel than the other? I won't have a chance to ride one first and don't want to make a significant move like this without a small understanding of what I'm giving up or gaining. Thanks for any info you have or can point me to. Yours, Thomas Lynn Skean -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
